Mugdha Naik

First company to be Certified as "Incredible Workplaces in the UAE - 2026". Part of the Leadership Team at SimuPhish, contributing to strategic business decisions from a people and operations perspective Leading end-to-end HR strategy and operations for a geographically distributed workforce across India and Dubai (UAE) Successfully implemented and deployed HRMS (Keka) single-handedly, driving automation of HR processes including onboarding, attendance, performance, and exits Managing and mentoring a recruitment team, ensuring timely hiring delivery aligned with business growth and workforce planning needs Building and strengthening employer branding for SimuPhish in the Middle East, positioning the company as a growing cybersecurity employer of choice Driving strategic talent acquisition, focusing on quality hiring, cultural fit, and leadership pipeline development Designing and executing HR frameworks, policies, and performance management systems to support scalable growth Partnering closely with founders and senior leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, and business expansion Overseeing full employee lifecycle management across multiple regions while ensuring consistency and compliance Leading employee engagement, culture-building, and internal communication initiatives to strengthen retention and morale Acting as a strategic HR advisor, balancing business priorities with people experience and organizational health Managing operations and HR governance, ensuring smooth execution of HR processes across India and UAE teams

📌 Partnering with Start-ups & SMBs to build scalable, employee-first HR operations from the ground up. 📌 Expertise in setting up HR functions, drafting HR policies, managing end-to-end payroll (India & international), HRMS implementation, talent acquisition, and engagement initiatives. 📌 Delivered tailored HR frameworks across industries like IT, Gaming, Retail, Healthcare & Chemicals. 📌 Conducted trainings on Effective Communication, POSH, Corporate Etiquette, and Employee Wellness programs.

As the pioneering People & Culture leader at Modmacon, I was responsible for setting up the entire HR function from scratch across India and Barcelona, Spain; supporting a fast-growing, creative gaming company in its scaling journey. Key achievements: *Built and operationalized end-to-end HR processes in both India and Spain, covering talent acquisition, performance management, employee engagement, compensation & benefits, and compliance. *Enabled HR tech adoption, streamlining core processes such as recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, and employee data management — enhancing efficiency and scalability for a globally distributed team. *Led global hiring initiatives across multiple geographies, successfully scaling high-performing teams for niche gaming and tech roles in a highly competitive talent market. *Spearheaded the setup of a global payroll system for Spain, ensuring smooth, compliant, and employee-friendly payroll management aligned with local regulations and company policies. *Developed and rolled out people-centric policies and engagement initiatives tailored to diverse, multicultural teams. *Acted as a trusted strategic partner to the leadership team on organizational design, talent strategy, and culture-building initiatives, championing a high-performance, inclusive, and collaborative work environment. This role allowed me to blend my passion for building scalable people operations with the dynamic, creative energy of the gaming industry — delivering forward-thinking HR solutions that support both people and business growth.

Invince (formerly UpsideLMS) is an IT SAAS Product company that enables organizations to unlock their talent potential, paving the way for them to emerge as invincible leaders in their own domains. Products - UpsideLMS (AI, ML, SAAS LMS Tech Product) & Plethora I am part of the leadership team at Invince, heading the HR vertical, responsible for all-things-HR! Some recent achievements include: 1) Winner of 'Most Iconic HR leaders' from World HRD Congress (2024) 2) Winner of 'Exceptional Employee Experience' from ETHRWorld (2024) 3) Top Diversity Champions - HerKey (2024) 4) Winner of 'Leading practices in Health & Wellbeing' - PeopleFirst HR Excellence awards (2022) 5) Top Diversity Champions - HerKey (2020) 6) Winner of 'Leading practices in Health & Wellbeing' - PeopleFirst HR Excellence awards (2020)

UpsideLMS is one of the most awarded (50+ awards) & best Learning Management Systems (AI, cloud based SAAS) that has been building a legacy of innovation for the past 18 years. I am a part of the leadership team at UpsideLMS and head the HR function so as to help my team feel more - empowered, engaged & energized.• Effectively liaised between senior management and employees to maintain and improve company-employee relations. Some key achievements here- - Team management - Making HR Tech-enabled - Wellness Initiatives - HR policies and procedures as per ISO & SOC compliance - Talent management - Employer branding - Diversity, equity & inclusion

Worked as the Head - HR where I led the HR team of around 4 members and was responsible for the smooth functioning of the human resources department.

Dual role as a HR – Specialist [Operations] & HRBP for a Fortune 500 company with an India employee strength of around 600 employees.

Worked as a UNIT HR Head & Corporate HR : Was heading the HR department for 4 units in Pune and Mumbai.

Worked as an Unit HR : Handled a Generalist HR profile [Sr. Exec- HR] for 2 stores in Pune for around 170 employees.